The Athletes’ Voice and a Feminist Ethics of Care: The Russian Doping Scandal at the 2016 Olympic Games

Abstract

During the Russian doping scandal at the 2016 Olympic Games, athletes’ voices were fighting to be heard. The response, specifically from athletes’, has been widely covered by sports critics and the media. Critical literature and media perspectives on this topic generated various types of reactions internationally, but in particular, at least two different kinds of discourses can be identified surrounding the debate on the scandal. This paper aims to differentiate and analyze these two main types of discourses: discourse for international collaboration and discourse for athletes’ care. The discourse on athletes’ care will be presented through some key ideas from ‘Ethics of Care’ and feminist theory. In this paper it will be claimed that there has been a missed opportunity to distinguish reactions to the 2016 Russian doping scandal through these two discourses. The ‘caring’ approach identifies that the conflict needed to be resolved by asking the athletes directly, understanding their experiences and listening to their needs. The international collaboration approach, rooted in sport justice and generally conceived to be superior, with discussions on length of bans, possibility of appeals and arguments for defence, is presented as the more ‘impartial’ approach. Both discourses possess strengths and weaknesses and, in order to strengthen philosophical and ethical arguments on polarizing events such as doping scandals, both deserve the attention of the scientific community.